It’s About Time… Volume 4 Number 4 Fall 2000

TO THE SISTERS IN THE BLACK NEWS BRIEFS LIBERATION STRUGGLE *Sacramento - California will for- feit about 590 million dollars in federal The African matching funds for children without health woman continues to be insurance. A bill which earmarked a share exploited, as an Afri- of the state’s tobacco settlement to insure can, as a worker, and as working parents and their children died a woman. She suffers in the legislature due to inaction. from both mental and With 7.5 million Californians lack- physical oppression and ing insurance and their ranks growing abuse. In industrial cit- every month, SB673 by Sen. Martha ies and in rural areas, Escutia was hailed as the best opportu- more African women nity to stem the crisis. The legislature and families live below failed to act on the bill and many others the poverty line than in before the current term ran out. 1970. Trapped in low- These people should be run out of paying jobs, our chil- office. Legislators work for us, the people. Employees in the private sector who failed dren suffer at the hands of a poor educational system and the to do their jobs would be fired. Do not re- abusive police. elect them. Hold your elected officials The African woman must organize and be educated (broth- responsible. ers also). Set your sights on permanent change that will trans- * - A federal appeals form our society and the conditions of our people - a true lib- panel has narrowed the powers of police eration struggle. We must strive for complete change, not just to search the homes of hundreds of thou- reforms. We must fight against all ideas, traditions and prac- sands of Californians on probation. The tices that hold us back from true emancipation. panel wrote that probationer’s homes can FORWARD ALWAYS! only be searched under the terms of pro- bation. They cannot be searched as a mere subterfuge for the pursuit of a new crimi- CUBA OFFERS TO SEND DOCTORS TO U.S. nal investigation. *U.S. Prisoners Number Over 2 Mil- Before the Cuban Revolution 41 years ago, there were only 6,000 doctors in Cuba. lion - You know the facts!! Now there are 66,000 doctors in Cuba and 3,000 Cuban doctors are in service in other *Los Angeles - Operation Easy countries. The Cuban National Assembly recently offered to send an undetermined num- Money - The L.A. Sheriff’s Department ber of doctors to Mississippi and other U.S. states where trained medical personnel are in suspended 4 deputies and 7 civilian em- short supply. ployees for stealing credit cards and ob- Cuba has also offered free medical training in Cuba for 500 Americans; targeting taining one million dollars in cash. African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Native Americans and people from other poor *Montebello - Southern California communities. Cuban leader Fidel Castro made the offer in May to visiting U.S. lawmak- Gas Co. was fined $3.5 million for forc- ers from the Congressional Black Caucus. ing about 500 landowners to sell mineral Before the 1959 revolution, there was no system for public health and there was rights at unfair prices and lying about it only one public hospital in Havana. Public health care was scarce in the countryside. to regulators. Today, 46 hospitals provide medical education, including specialty training, and there *California - $365 million has been are 4 formal medical schools. Health care is available and free to all citizens from birth. allotted to build a prison hospital in Despite the scarcity of resources due to the economic embargo imposed the U.S., Cuba Coalinga, which will house up to 1500 has a model health care system. prisoners. We need more schools - not See News Briefs on Page 2

SPONSORED BY - It’s About Time Committee & Black Panther Party Alumni Committee For More Information: P.O. Box 221100 • Sacramento, CA 95822 • Ph: 916-455-0908 • Website: itsabouttimebpp.com SACRAMENTO P.D. THE SELMA ELECTION ARE RECKLESS DRIVERS By Gaidi Faraj On October 2, 2000, the crowd overflowed into the hall of the The city of Sacramento has paid $2.9 million to settle a law- Selma City Council chambers as people gathered to witness the his- suit stemming from another police patrol car wreck. This is the toric swearing in of Selma’s first Black Mayor, James Perkins, Jr. fifth person in less than 2 years to receive a huge payment as a Perkins defeated the nine term incumbent Joe T. Smitherman in result of a police patrol car accident, costing the taxpayers a total a run-off election on September 12. This was Perkins third attempt to of $9.9 million. This reflects a disregard for human safety and tax- unseat the segregation era Smitherman, and the first time he made it payers should not have to subsidize reckless behavior by the po- to a run-off. Perkins received 6,230 votes to Smitherman’s 4,884. lice. Individuals should be held accountable! Both of these totals were way up from the vote totals in the general election in which Perkins and Smitherman received 4,076 and 4,352 votes respectively. Going against the trend of low voter turnout across FIRESTONE TIRES SCANDAL the country, well over 50% of Selma’s citizens voted in this election. Selma is known for its role in the Voting Rights Movement in To date, 103 people have been reported the 1960’s. It gained national attention in 1965 when a group of civil killed in accidents involving Firestone tires. rights workers were savagely beaten by racist state troopers and local The National Highway Traffic Safety Admin- whites as they attempted to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which leads out of Selma towards the Alabama State capital of Mont- istration said it received about 800 reports of gomery. Two weeks later the marchers successfully completed the tire tread separation, blowouts, and other prob- march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Kwame Toure among those lems with the tires since Aug. 31, 2000. There making the trek. have been reports of over 400 injuries. Most Joe T. Smitherman was mayor of Selma during the attack on the accidents have involved the Ford Explorer, the marchers in 1965 and once referred to King as Martin Luther Coon. world’s top-selling sports utility vehicle, on which Firestone tires He was a supporter of segregation and fought recent efforts in Selma are standard equipment. to remove the Confederate battle flag from the city seal. Continental General Tire announced it will replace 160,000 The effort to defeat Smitherman put Selma back in the national spot- tires - mostly from Lincoln Navigators - because they were found light as activists from around the country came to support the effort to get to be susceptible to losing tread. Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. re- him out of office after 36 years. Geronimo ji Jaga made several trips to called 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires. Selma and encouraged others to get involved. Following his lead celeb- Firestone didn’t announce the recall until August, but Ford rities like actor Sean Penn also descended on Selma to attend mass meet- began a recall of Firestone tires in 16 countries more than a year ings and offer words of encouragement. Others who came for various before the U.S. recall. Also, there are lawsuits dating back a de- events include Martin Luther King III, Dick Gregory, Rev. Fred cade regarding claims of tire tread separation. Shuttlesworth and numerous delegations representing the NAACP, SCLC The N.Y. Times reported in 1999 that Federal traffic accident and other community and college based organizations. data showed that 52 people died in 40 accidents in Explorers in Selma also has a reputation for being one of the more racially which the tires were the problem, twice as many as 1998. divided cities in this part of the country, with White voters almost We believe that this is a clear case of Corporate Greed and unanimously supporting the White incumbent and the Black commu- Criminal Activity resulting in the loss of human life. nity supporting Perkins. Perkins’ campaign centered on the idea of truth and reconciliation which drew implicit parallels between Selma NEWS BRIEFS from Page 1 and South Africa. Many Whites made public statements that if Perkins were elected, the White businesses in town would flee and Selma more prisons! would go into severe economic decline. Very few Whites attended *Berlin, Germany - Three neo-nazis were found guilty of the the inauguration. racist murder of Alberto Adriano from Mozambique. One will The racial divide was evident at the swearing in ceremony where receive a life sentence and the others nine years each. Perkins was sworn in with the new city council which has six Blacks *Los Angeles - More Convictions Tossed in LAPD Scandal - and three Whites. Each member was sworn in individually. All of the Clinton Harris, 36, will be freed. He was framed by two undercover Black members were sworn in by Black judges or ministers while all cops at the center of the police corruption probe. This ruling brings of the White members of the council elected to be sworn in by a to 98 the number of cases dismissed due to police corruption. White judge, a symbolic representation of the divide between these two communities. *California - According to the U.S. Census Bureau, whites are no longer a majority in the state. *Washington - The Supreme Court barred California from dispensing marijuana to people who are sick or in pain. Nearly 4 years ago, voters approved a statewide initiative allowing seriously ill patients to obtain marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. The Court ruled that federal law supercedes state law, yet several counties continue their medical marijuana distribution in defiance of the ruling. *San Francisco - The California Supreme Court ruled that the identities of prosecution witnesses must be disclosed to the defense, even if they believe their lives are in danger. The unani-

See NEWS BRIEFS on Page 4 2 ANGOLA 3 UPDATE Letters to the Editor

Fellow workers, I am just back from a two day seminar of left unionists in Brazil, organized by the Metalworkers Section of the main labor fed- eration, the CUT. The meeting was designed to facilitate ongoing international labor soli- darity work, but covered other things, like the situation in Columbia. I distributed flyers about the Angola 3 to just about all of the approximately 75 delegates who came from a dozen countries. The most AIDS CUTTING LIFE encouraging response came from the South Afri- EXPECTANCY IN AFRICA can delegate, Abraham Agulhas, the leader of the 12,000 member Oil, Chemical and Allied Workers, Life expectancy in the countries worst hit by Africa’s stagger- and someone who lobbied the leadership of the ing AIDS epidemic is expected to fall to around 30 within a de- Congress of South African Trade Unions to sup- cade - the lowest in a century - as the disease kills tens of millions port Mumia Abu-Jamal. more in its sweep across the continent. This new estimate is the We talked at some length about the Angola 3 latest attempt to quantify the incredible breadth and effect of the and he clearly indicated that he will take the infor- epidemic on sub-Saharan Africa, where 15 million have died of mation I gave him back to South Africa and talk to AIDS and 25 million more infected people almost certainly will other union leaders there about the Angola 3. I am die in the next few years. quite certain he will come through for us. I have his e- AIDS already has sharply reduced life expectancy in many mail address if anyone would like to contact him directly. southern African countries. In Botswana, where more than one- Bruce Allen, Canada e-mail: [email protected] third of adults are infected with HIV, life expectancy is now 39 (editor’s note: Bruce is a labor organizer in Canada and an ac- instead of 71, as it would have been without the disease. The num- tive supporter of the Angola 3, Mumia, and other political prisoners. bers are expected to get worse. By 2010, life expectancy will be It’s About Time salutes his ongoing work.) 29 in Botswana, 30 in Swaziland, 33 in Namibia and Zimbabwe, and 36 in South Africa, Malawi and Rwanda. Without AIDS it Hey comrades, would have been around 70 in many of those countries. We had about 100 people, including geronimo and Afeni, come Dr. Kevin DeCock of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to the event marking the 30 year anniversary of the Desire Housing and Prevention called the epidemic, “Africa’s worst social catas- Project shootout in New Orleans and support for the Angola 3. We trophe since slavery.” got a lot of positive feedback and an offer from one of the bands to do another benefit. We also ended up with a dedicated cadre of In Memory of Julian Richardson college students who are setting up speaking engagements for us. Mr. Richardson, founder of Marcus Books, died in early Au- gust, 2000. The has lost another leader Thanks for all your support. and pillar of the community. Peace, Marion Mr. Richardson opened Marcus Bookstore in 1960. Over the REMEMBER THE ATTICA PRISON years, many Afro-American writers, from Alice Walker to , had book signings at Marcus Bookstore. It is a place the UPRISING community comes for knowledge. Sept. 9-13, 1971 Mr. Richardson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and at- tended Tuskegee Institute. was his classmate. George Over 28 years ago at the Attica State Prison in upstate New Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington both taught at York, prisoners who were fed up with poor conditions took con- Tuskegee while Mr. Richardson was there. trol of the prison. Their demands included an end to guard bru- In 1944, he moved to San Francisco with his wife, Raye. tality, better food, medical care, and the right to read certain news- In the early days of the BPP, we used the Richardson’s print- papers; i.e. the Black Panther Community News Service and the ing service to make leaflets and posters. We also used the store as Black Muslim paper. After several days of negotiation, against a meeting place. Owning a commercial press allowed Mr. the wishes of the state’s negotiating team, then Gov. Nelson Richardson to publish books, pamphlets and manuscripts on Black Rockefeller ordered state troopers to retake the prison. Using Culture and Nationalism that otherwise wouldn’t be available to helicopters and tear gas, they fired their guns indiscriminately the Bay Area community. into a crowd of 1281 inmates. This action resulted in the deaths “He was dedicated to the progress of our race and was always of 43 people, including the 11 guards held hostage who were shot action oriented,” said his daughter Blanche. The bookstores pro- and killed by fellow officers. Eighty people were also wounded, vide a forum for the community. There are two stores, located in and countless others were beaten and tortured in retaliation as the Oakland and San Francisco. He was instrumental in developing state retook control of the yard. Black culture in the Filmore district of San Francisco. He will be greatly missed. 3 FREE BUSING PROGRAM Where to Find

Mission Statement - The mission of the The Foundation is funded by donations It’s About Time Foundation is to help those persons who and the proceeds from the sale of graphic- Newsletter cannot help themselves and to work with logo T-shirts and assorted crafted art that these people to better their quality of life. inmates send to us. Carol’s Books The Foundation will also take a strong ac- Free Busing to Prisons Program - 5964 South Land Park Dr. tive role in assuring that all incarcerated Started in August 2000, the busing program Sacramento, CA 95822 Brothers receive visits from loved ones. has taken people to several prisons to visit History - The Foundation is a group of their loved ones. On the first trip, $90 was Marcus Bookstore people committed to helping the people no collected in donations from the people on 1712 Fillmore St. matter what the need is. the trip. The total cost was $220. There are San Francisco, CA 94115 The Foundation was founded by Bro. 15 people signed up for the last trip in Sept. Trent Winters on July 12th, 2000 after be- For more info or to send donation: Marcus Bookstore ing released from jail in the previous month. All Power to the People Foundation 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Over the duration, Trent realized the need 7967 West Airport Oakland, CA 94609 to empower others to believe that truly All Houston, TX 77071 Power Does indeed Belong to the People. (713) 729-1153 Esowon Books 3655 S. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90016

K.I.N.K.S. International 629 15th Street Sacramento, CA

Your Muslim Bakery 5832 San Pablo Oakland, CA

Community Bookstore 217 N. Broad St. New Orleans, LA

Amistad Research Center Tilton Hall Tulane University New Orleans, LA NEWSBRIEFS from Page 2 mous decision overturns two lower court shooting of an inmate. Two others have been Washington - U.S. Food to be Sold to rulings that allowed L.A. prosecutors to keep indicted on federal charges of conspiring to Cuba - The House and Senate approved a secret the names of witnesses. arrange attacks on prisoners from 1992 to deal to allow the sale of U. S. food products *Dallas - A federal magistrate awarded 1995. to Cuba, a significant change in U.S. policy, more than $700,000 to 13 Latino employ- New York - It is not possible to deter- being pushed by farming states. The bill will ees who argued that they were discriminated mine “race” by DNA. Genetic research is allow cash sales and financing through third against for speaking Spanish at work. The showing that there is only one race on planet countries, but prohibits any U.S. financing Court doesn’t support English Only policies earth - the human race. “Race is a social arrangements. which discriminate mostly against Mexican concept, not a scientific one,” says Craig Americans, many of whom are hired for their Venter, the director of the Celera Genomics ability to speak Spanish. Corp. “We all evolved in the last 100,000 California - A San Quentin Prison years from the small number of tribes that guard and union leader, Lee P. Beck, was migrated out of Africa and colonized the busted trying to smuggle cocaine and heroin world.” This newsletter is published into the prison for sale. Beck is vice presi- California - The state of California will with support from dent of the California Correctional Peace Of- pay $350,000 to a dying inmate because the ficers Association at San Quentin. What is prison physician ignored signs of breast can- The Vanguard Foundation wrong with this picture? cer for years. Sherrie Chapman suffers from and the California - Seven guards at Pelican metastatic breast cancer due to a delay in Bay Prison were cleared of excessive force diagnosis despite her complaints of painful LEF Foundation charges in the beating of an inmate, Tho- breast lumps. This is only one of many mas Brissett. In May, another guard was claims of neglect and poor care at the sentenced to only 7 years in prison for the women’s prisons in California. 4 LOOKING AT ONE ANOTHER 1967 and 1970, in what was then called Biafra. People at the uni- versity and in my town, Awka, assumed I had money and was in By Dr. Yvonne King Africa only for an adventure or maybe to find my roots and then (reprinted from go home. They could not believe and certainly were unable to The Neighborhood Leader, Chicago, Ill, Feb. 2000) understand that I had moved to Africa permanently. I did not have a car for the first three years I lived in West Recently I was hav- Africa because I could not afford one. People in Awka, who used ing a stimulating discus- to see me trekking (walking), assumed that I preferred walking to sion with my neighbor riding. Surely this American could buy a car if she wanted to. I and supervisor in learned years later that many people assumed I was being paid in Sekondi, Ghana about life dollars. I am certain that most of the Americans they had known in the com- were missionaries, businessmen, Peace Corps volunteers, all of pared with some of his ex- whom were being paid in foreign currencies, or were women who periences in Russia in the were married to well-to-do Nigerians. Clearly, I did not fall into 1970’s when it was part of any of those categories, but regardless, I was born and raised in the former United Soviet America. Socialist Republic About one year after arriving in Nigeria and seeing how I was (USSR). He described struggling without a car, my landlady said rather matter-of-factly, several instances of rac- “Why don’t you have your people send you a car?” I said to my- ism while he was a stu- self, “Why does she think that my family has that kind of money?” dent in the old USSR, but It cost about one thousand eight hundred dollars to ship a car from he was shocked when I told him persists in the US. You the US to West Africa. I think it was more than just that I was born see, most people in Africa believe that life in the US is free of any and raised in “God’s own country,” but I had acquired a doctorate hardships. Although some Africans know about racism in the US degree. Education in Africa is extremely expensive when one con- in earlier times, particularly due to the civil rights and black power siders the average per capita income in most countries in the Moth- movements, most certainly do not believe that it still exists. erland. Therefore, it is usually the elite - those with money and Today African youth and adults alike aspire to leave their dif- influence - who achieve that level of higher education. In certain ficult countries to flock to the West, particularly the US, which the areas of many African countries, boys are educated before girls Nigerians refer to as “God’s own country”. They are driven usu- and too often girls, if they go to school, are not given the same ally by economics and fail to consider how they may be treated in opportunities to realize their academic potential. I imagine that this country because of the color of their skin. Usually it is not my landlady assumed that I came from a wealthy family. considered because they do not know that racism still rears its ugly Because Africans make these and other kinds of assumptions head in this country. And then those who do know often do not about Americans, many cannot conceive of racism in the US. care because they are on a mission that usually is to earn money to Despite our common heritage, the worlds of the Diaspora and the help themselves and those at home. It is not to say that Africans Motherland are different in so many ways. Many of us in the from the Motherland have avoided being victimized by racists in Diaspora do not understand the complexities of the contradictions the US. However, most probably absorb such discrimination and that result in mass abject poverty, ethnic conflicts, rampant spread suffer in silence. This silence usually continues even after they of HIV, and gross corruption, particularly that which is fueled by return to their towns and villages with the fiercely sought after US the State apparatus, that exist in Africa today. On the other hand, dollar and other evidence of material success. Consequently, the how difficult it must be for those in Africa today to grasp how myths about life in America are perpetuated. insidious and devastating racism is, especially when it manifests During the early period of my more than 10 years living as a in “God’s own country.” single woman in Nigeria, I was confronted with some of these Thirty-one years ago, I joined the Illinois Chapter of the Black misconceptions. One of the most prominent is that all Americans Panther Party, in Chicago, where I joined thousands of other Black are rich and, otherwise, constitute one homogeneous group. It is youth to fight against racism and exploitation in the land of the interesting to note that too many people in the US make the same free and home of the brave. Little did I know on January 2, 1969, mistake by referring to African culture, African religion, African when I entered the Panthers’ headquarters at 3950 West Madison dress, and some even think that all African food is the same. Let Street that 20 years later I would be in a position to begin to under- us not forget that Africa, unlike the US, is a Continent, consisting stand better the problems of our Brothers and Sisters on both sides of more than 50 countries with different ethnic groups speaking of the Atlantic. As the Panther Party taught me, change is a pro- different languages and often practicing different cultures, etc. cess - and truly a protracted one. Clearly, the struggle continues. I was surprised and initially disappointed that I was not rec- Dr. King is currently teaching in Sekondi, Ghana. ognized as an African American or even a Black American. How- ever, it did not compare with the frustration I experienced from most people in my town thinking I had money. Little did they know that on April 29, 1989, I arrived at the Murtala Muhammad It’s About Time… International Airport in Lagos with approximately one hundred Publishing Committee and ten dollars and less than that when I reached my final destina- tion, Awka, later that evening. I was hardly the rich American William (Billy X) Jennings Editor many expected. JoNina Abron Contributions After being unemployed in Ghana for almost 10 months, I Gail Shaw Contributions went to Nigeria to teach at a university in Anambra State, in the Clark Bailey Contributions southeast of the country, where the civil war was fought between 5 UNDERGROUND tions gave me momentary comfort. The guilt made me think about turn- ing myself in - especially when my mother was hospitalized and diag- Partially Reprinted from BLU Magazine - August 2000 nosed with cancer. It was, however, the very same FBI agents assigned to capture me that made the final decision for me. Their harassment of my NEHANDA children and mother was and is unforgivable. They often tried to take my ABIODUN is a politi- then fourteen year old daughter out of class to interrogate her. They would cal exile living in Cuba. detain my five year old son leaving kindergarten asking him where I was; She is a veteran of the and my mother was mentally tormented until only very recently. They New Afrikan indepen- even told her that if I didn’t turn myself in, they would likely kill me if dence struggle and a they caught me. citizen of the Republic The u.s. government and its agents crystallized for me why I had to of New Afrika. continue to resist. I couldn’t allow them to go on unchallenged violating Nehanda’s work as an the human rights of their so-called African American citizens; illegally activist began at age ten invading sovereign nations; flooding drugs into the communities of people as a tenant organizer. of color and committing terrorist acts to destabilize countries like Cuba. Later she worked with It was during this time that I remembered Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. the National Black Hu- I imagined that he, too, felt the pain of leaving behind his family when he man Rights Coalition, was forced underground. It was attempting to see them that cost him his and then helped to heal life, killed at the hands of traitors carrying out united states butchery. addicts at the Black Living underground for me was a renewal of the commitment I made Acupuncture Associa- in 1978. It was extremely difficult at times; moving from place to place, tion of North America hearing about the captures of Mutulu Shakur, Susan Rosenberg, Laura with Dr. Mutulu Whitehorn, Linda Evans, Marilyn Buck, and it was the Creator that helped Shakur. In 1982 me deal with the death of Kwasi Balagoon. But living in the whirlwind Nehanda was indicted, was rewarding at times. Wherever I went I was welcomed by people who along with Dr. Shakur were just as committed as I was to the cause of freedom. There are no and Sekou Odinga, for a Brinks truck expropriation. She went under- words to express how fortunate I was and am, or the gratitude I feel to ground and later surfaced in Cuba. Nehanda is a member of the Malcolm those I had the honor to meet and work with while underground. Dedi- X Grassroots Movement. cated, disciplined, loving people of all colors, social and religious persua- At the age of 28, I decided that I was going to devote my energies to sions. These Brothers and Sisters allowed me the freedom to nurture my bringing about a free New Afrika in a more disciplined, organized way. I spirituality, to politically mature and help me grow into a better person. was fortunate that my parents taught me the value of resisting and strug- My freedom today is a testimony of the strength of a world-wide commu- gling against injustice, and even though was and still is my nity that craves peace and justice; to my ancestors who gave their lives for political mentor, until that time I chose important but safe ways to fight freedom; to political prisoners, who are presently incarcerated in the system. It wasn’t until I started working with Dr. Mutulu Shakur at amerikkka’s hell holes; and I give all praises to the Creator for guiding me the Black Acupuncture Association of North America (BAANA) that I when the path was uncertain. had my first real taste of government police agency harassment, surveil- When I first went underground, the FBI was quoted as saying that I lance, telephone wiretaps, and dirty tricks. would be the easiest to capture because of my supposed inexperience. BAANA was founded and supported by some of the most dedicated What the FBI forgot to take into account was that they were not just trying revolutionaries - individuals who were involved in the New Afrikan, Puerto to stop an individual, they were trying to stop a movement of people de- Rican independence, and North American anti-imperialist movements. We termined to be free. My freedom is a people’s victory. (BAANA) supported national liberation movements, organized and fought FREE THE LAND! against police brutality in our communities, and resisted cutbacks in wel- fare benefits, health services, and educational opportunities for people of color. We were dedicated to exposing the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Pro- gram (COINTELPRO) AND TO THE FREEDOM OF Political Prison- DA UNDA GROUND ers. After the liberation of Assata Shakur on November 2, 1979, our clinic Mo’ deeper, Mo’ deafer, Mo’ indepth and Mo’ profound. was labeled a terrorist hangout, and following the October 21, 1981 Nyack No scenes from the mainstream, for this shit is strictly from the underground. Brinks expropriation attempt, we were an excuse for the FBI to intensify The homeless on Chicago’s lower Wacker Drive were forced to live in it. their war on progressive people. On April 26, 1982 a number of us were either arrested or sought by the FBI for violating the federal RICO (orga- Some time ago, Harriet Tubman utilized it, Assata was forced in it, nized crime) laws. I was one of the people they were looking for, and it and the Viet Cong hid in it. was on this day - April 26, 1982 - that I went underground. Where Mos Def, dead prez, The Coup and Conman tapes could still be found, The ultimate reason I decided to go underground was that I knew In this illustrious, beloved sacred covenant that we call Da Unda Ground. that the FBI was not seeking to arrest us to go to trial. It was quite simply Where archeologists in Egypt do their digs and miners in Southern Africa trying to kill us and destroy our movement. I had seen the results of the are forced to live. Joint Terrorist Task Force torture of Seku Odinga after his capture, and It’s where in Chicago, Illinois, 1969, Spurgeon Jake Winters dropped two the cold-blooded assassination of Mytari Shabaka Sundiata. I had read the misinformation in the newspapers calling us murderers and terrorists, oncoming pigs. and listened to the boasts that the New Afrikan Independence Movement Where countless of cadavers of colonized casualties go unclaimed. no longer existed. I didn’t go underground to save myself, I went under- And in New York, New York, 1999, beneath big buildings, it’s where they found ground to help save my people. old bones and slave remains. Living underground meant leaving behind family, friends and com- In Marion Illinois it’s where a many Political Prisoners may be found. rades. The guilt of leaving my children is something I live with and am Snatched from civilization, sensory deprivation, with no communication, trying to deal with to this day, eighteen years later. How does one make a 24/7, non-stop held Underground! choice between a people’s struggle for liberation and your two children? It’s impossible to choose one over the other. My philosophical justifica- Young Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr.

6 ON THE QUESTION OF SEXISM WITHIN THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY By Safiya Bukhari-Alston (excerpts from an article written in response to Alice Walker’s article on sexism in the BPP - 1993)

The error everyone seems to be making, issue of politically educating its ranks, it was also feeding hungry chil- supporters and detractors of the Black Panther dren, establishing liberation schools, organizing tenants, welfare mothers Party (BPP) alike, is separating the Party from and establishing free health clinics. Simultaneously, the Black Panther its time and roots and looking at it in a vacuum. Party was under attack from the local, state and federal government. Of- Quite clearly, The Black Panther Party came fices of the Black Panther Party from California to Louisiana, from Texas out of the Black community and its experi- to Michigan, all across the country were under physical attack and Pan- ences. The membership of the Black Panther thers were being killed and imprisoned. We were not just theorizing about Party was recruited from the ghettos of the struggle, we were involved in constant struggle on all levels. inner cities. The Party itself was founded in Finally, I would like to remind you of two things. The first is, we Oakland, California in the spring of 1966 by must remember that everybody that is Black is not involved in the Black two Black men who came straight out of the Liberation Struggle and therefore, their critique of the struggle or ele- ghetto and met on the campus of Merritt Col- ments of the struggle is not done with the motivation of curing the sick- lege. It was founded as a response to the ram- ness to save the patient. The second thing is that while the primary struggle pant episodes of police brutality against the that the Black community faces is one against racist oppression and eco- Black Community committed by the notorious Oakland Police Depart- nomic exploitation, we must still deal with the problem of male chauvin- ment. ism and sexism as well as domestic violence in our communities. These Bobby Seale and Huey Newton envisioned the Party (for Self De- problems are not just problems that exist in the Black Community, but in fense) as just that, a community based organization who sought to defend the whole of society. The problem for us is that we are having to deal with the community against police brutality and set an example of revolution- them simultaneously with the primary struggle. ary activism. In defining the work of the Party they looked to other The Black Panther Party put into place a mechanism for dealing with struggles around the world and to Mao Tse Tung’s Red Book “Quotations this - starting with political education and ending with bringing the re- of Chairman Mao” for direction. The Eight Points of Attention and Three sponsible parties up on charges for disciplinary purposes. It is through Main Rules of Discipline were lifted directly from this book. One of the study and practice that we strengthen our own self-esteem and therefore Eight Points was “Do Not Take Liberties With Women.” This was a monu- gain the courage to challenge chauvinist and sexist attitudes that we en- mental step forward in addressing the issue of the treatment of women. counter as we struggle. And finally, it is through our social practice that The simple fact that the issue was placed in/on books was a step forward, we set the example to our community and advance the struggle. We must now we had to make it a part of our everyday lives, the everyday lives of remember that the Black Panther Party may not have completed the task, the lumpen who were the majority element of the Black Panther Party. but we did put the question on the floor. The ideology of the Black Panther Party developed out of the struggle Editor’s note - There were many sisters in leadership positions in the of people of Afrikan descent in the United States for freedom, a struggle BPP. Some examples are: Erica Huggins ran our New Haven office. which began on the slave ships and continues today. This struggle is seen Lauren Williams was our head photographer. Naomi Williams ran Cen- through the prism of Marxist-Leninism and scientific socialism. It was an tral Distribution along with Sam Napier. Pat Hilliard was our treasurer. attempt to overcome the romanticism and idealism which was character- Marsha Turner was Officer of the Day at Central Headquarters. Kim istic of Black organizations at the time and replace it with a pragmatic Nelson was in charge of our West Oakland Center. There were many analysis that allowed for “social practice” being “the criteria for truth”. more whose contributions were just as important as the brothers. In many Nonetheless, it had it’s own unique analysis of which class was the van- cases, after police raids removed many male members, the women con- guard of the struggle for Black liberation. tinued to run the offices and raise funds to keep the programs going and The Party believed that the only group that was capable of moving bail the brothers out. the struggle forward was the lumpenproletariat (lumpens) - i.e., the brother and sister “off the block”. The Party felt that they were at the bottom rung of the totem pole and had nothing to lose. It was this element that the Black Panther Party recruited from the ghetto and tried to politicize. In its brief history (1966-1973) of seven years, women had been in- volved on every level in the Black Panther Party. There were women, like Audrea Jones, who founded the Boston Chapter of the BPP, women like Brenda Hyson, who was the Officer of the Day in the Brooklyn Chapter of the BPP, women like Peaches, who fought side by side with Geronimo Pratt in the Southern California Chapter of the BP, Kathleen Cleaver who was in the Central Committee, and Sister Rivera who was one of the motivators behind the office in Mr. Vernon, NY. By the same token there were prob- lems with men who brought their sexist attitudes into the organization. Men who refused to take direction (orders) from women, and we had a frame- work established to deal with that, but because of liberalism and cowardice, as well as fear, a lot of times the framework was not utilized. It is extremely important that we remember that even though the Black Panther Party had a built in process to deal with male chauvinism within its ranks, the members of the Party were products of the society in which they lived. We struggled against these tendencies whenever pos- sible, but they were reinforced by the society in which we lived. In order to create a new society we have to create a new being. If we simply change the color of the oppressor, we have not moved forward. It is easy to decry the sexism of the leadership of the BPP from afar, without having struggled along with them. While the Party was dealing with the

7 “ECHOES”

Echoes of wisdom I often hear, A mother’s strength softly in my ears, echoes of womanhood shining so bright, echoes of mother within darkest night. Echoes of wisdoms on my mother’s lips, too young to understand it was in a gentle kiss! Echoes of love and fear, arrogance of manhood wouldn’t let me hear Echoes of heartache I still hold close, as I mourn the loss of my one true hero! Echoes from a mother’s womb, heartbeats held so dear, life begins with my first tears. Echoes of footsteps taken in the past, echoes VOTE NOVEMBER 7 of manhood standing in a looking VOTE NOVEMBER 7 glass, echoes of motherhood gentle and near, echoes of a lost mother I will VOTE NOVEMBER 7 always hear! Cinque (aka Albert Woodfox) Angola 3 35TH YEAR REUNION OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY NEBRASKANS FOR JUSTICE It’s About Time has started making plans for the 35th year BPP Reunion to be held October 2001 in Washington DC. We are look- Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa (formerly David Rice) ing for as many ex-Party members, community workers, and sup- need your help. They have been imprisoned for 30 years, for a porters as possible to add to our mailing list and involve in the re- murder they insist they did not commit. And Nebraskans for Jus- union. We are also looking for people on the East Coast who would tice has recruited a legal team to review court documents, secret like to work with the Reunion Committee on organizing the event. surveillance reports by the FBI, and all the relevant evidence, to Your tax-deductible donations to help make this event pos- see what steps can be taken to set Ed and Mondo free. sible are greatly appreciated. Please make checks out to It’s About We need financial help for this dedicated team of Nebraska Time and mark Reunion on the bottom. Send to It’s About Time, lawyers. They work under the able supervision of New York attor- PO Box 221100, Sacramento, CA 95822. ney Lennox Hinds, who served as an attorney for former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. Like Ed and Mondo, Mandela For more information: e-mail: [email protected] was a political prisoner for 27 years. Phone: (916) 455 0908 We cannot allow the injustice to Ed and Mondo to continue in Nebraska, and we ask that you write a check to Nebraskans for Justice (NFJ) for at least thirty dollars, for thirty years of incar- ceration, and send it to: Nebraskans for Justice, 1314 South Ninth Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68108 (NFJ is a non-profit corporation and your donations are tax deductible)

NEW PANTHER VANGUARD MOVEMENT

Saturday - October 14, 2000

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REPARATIONS For African Americans and Indigenous People Special Guest Speaker - David DuBois For more information: Ph. (323) 296-4383 Fax (323) 290-1645 e-mail: [email protected]

8 COALITION AGAINST If they refuse, inform them that you will call CAPA. This is im- portant, because the police will often cover their abuse with charges POLICE ABUSE of assault on an officer against the victim of their brutality. Our strength is in our unity. Victims of police abuse need independent The Coalition witnesses to corroborate their experience, so don’t hesitate to do Against Police what has to be done, and call CAPA. Abuse (CAPA) was YOU CAN SUE THE POLICE formed in 1976 in You have the right to file criminal charges against abusive response to a wave police officers, and to file claims for civil damages (a cash pen- of police shootings, alty) against the city of Los Angeles or other jurisdictions. While beatings and ha- even the most successful suits are no substitute for an organized rassment. CAPA’s community mobilization to end police crimes, imagine the impact membership is on the City Council and the residents of having thousands of cases drawn from the go to court and millions of dollars being paid out to victims of Black and Latino police abuse. communities, You have exactly 180 days from the date of the incident to file workers’ organiza- such a claim or you will lose your right to sue. The forms you need tions, churches, the to file a claim for damages because of police abuse can be picked gay community, the up at the City Clerk’s office and/or the Hall of Administration for women’s move- Los Angeles County. ment, and concerned individuals. CAPA believes that the reign of In addition, don’t forget to file a report with the CAPA Police terror by the LAPD, and by police and sheriff’s departments across Complaint Bureau. Many complaints made directly to the police the country - including the FBI, CIA, and INS - must be opposed. are simply ignored. Often, we are even harassed while making a This means mobilizing and uniting a wide base of forces into a mass complaint at a police station. movement against police abuse. CAPA COMPLAINT BUREAU MOBILIZING A MASS MOVEMENT To help you overcome such problems, CAPA formed its own CAPA is committed to calling attention to the many instances complaint bureau. We have files on thousands of officers who of police abuse, and bringing public pressure to bear in obtaining have had various complaints and charges leveled at them by com- justice. We want to educate people about our human and constitu- munity people. We can help make formal complaints to the appro- tional rights, train new leadership so that people can unite to de- priate agencies. Again, such a program cannot take the place of an fend themselves and their democratic rights from further attack, organized mass movement to hold the police accountable for their and unite as many people and organizations as possible from all crimes against the people. But it can help unite our forces and races and nationalities so that in our numbers we will have the build such a movement. unity and strength to defend our homes, families and human rights. Coalition Against Police Abuse (CAPA) We intend to mobilize, rely on, and give concrete direction to the 2824 S. Western Ave. • Los Angeles, CA 90018 people in our communities to stand up for their rights against po- 323-733-2107 lice harassment, beatings, racist insults and murders. CAPA sees the necessity not only of organizing against police abuse, but also for educating our communities about the link be- Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald tween increases in police abuse and the growing economic crisis Chip has served 32 years in the confines of taking place globally and in the United States. If workers strike America. He is there because of his political be- for higher wages and representation, who is called out? The Po- liefs. He is there because he represented the people lice. If you can’t pay the rent and refuse to leave your home and in their struggle against oppression and racism. move into the streets, who is called out? The Police. And if you Chip is a former Black Panther, nothing else organize demonstrations against a corrupt and unjust system, gov- need be said. We are all familiar with the dedicated ernment complicity in drug dealing, or mass imprisonment and and unselfish work that the Panthers put in for our people. We welfare cuts, who is called out? The Police - whether with armed must honor this work with his FREEDOM! force or as disruptive undercover spies! CAPA understands that Chip has been approved for transfer to CMC-E, but it has the police and their abusive methods are necessary elements in been over a month and he still waits. He needs people to write maintaining a system controlled by a few billionaires and politi- letters to the prison requesting that they immediately honor his cians who put profits before people. transfer. He will be going to the parole board in December or We have won some interim victories. We have exposed orga- January, and he will have a better chance if he is not at Salinas. nized gangs of vigilantes and white racists inside the LAPD and Letters can be sent to the following places requesting that his Sheriff’s Department. We won the requirement that all LAPD of- approved transfer takes place immediately: ficers must carry business cards and give them to everybody they Inmates Appeals Section stop. The cards, adopted after pressure by CAPA and other com- C/O California Department of Corrections munity groups, carries the officer’s name, division, and 600 Bercut Drive, Sacramento, CA commander’s phone number. If you don’t get one in an encounter Drs. Thor and Pavlovic with the police, get their car number and note the location and C/O Salinas Valley State Prison time, call us at 323-733-2107, and we’ll follow up. PO Box 1040 • Soledad, CA 93960-1040 Unity and vigilance are critical in resisting police abuse. When you’re on the streets and witness police abuse, note the date, time, For more info: Talibah Shakir at: [email protected] and location, get the car number and ask for their business cards. or Mel Mason at: [email protected] 9 THANKS TO MODERN SCIENCE BOYCOTT CHATTANOOGA 17 INNOCENT PEOPLE TOURISM HAVE BEEN REMOVED Lurking behind the streams and mountains of Chattanooga FROM DEATH ROW there is a clear and present menace that could prove to be a real danger to you and your family. All throughout the Chattanooga area the right, white, and very uptight men and women of local THANKS TO MODERN POLITICS Law Enforcement are completely out of control. 23 INNOCENT PEOPLE You may think, with some justification, that this is a national problem, since most cities do have some police who are corrupt HAVE BEEN REMOVED and brutal. Chattanooga, however, leads the nation (on a per capita FROM THE LIVING basis) when it comes to known police murders and overall police (American Civil Liberties Union, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor, brutality; racial profiling, and beatings are all too common. For NY, NY 10004, www.aclu.org) more than fifteen years there has been, on an average, a death ev- ery six months at the hands of local police - more than 38 people. On April 15, 1999, Ronald Keith Williamson walked away In spite of overwhelming evidence, not one police officer in Chat- from Oklahoma State Prison a free man. An innocent man, he had tanooga has been prosecuted for murder. spent the last eleven years behind bars. “I did not rape or kill Many of these uniformed assassins are still “on duty,” and Debra Sue Carter,” he would shout day and night from his death while in the Chattanooga area you are at risk of a personal encoun- row cell. His voice was so torn and raspy from his pleas for justice ter with one of them. The Chattanooga Police Department is only that he could barely speak. DNA evidence would eventually end a tool for the corrupt and fascist political system in control of the his nightmare and prove his innocence. He came within five days city. The lifeblood of this system is tourist dollars. The money of being put to death for a crime he did not commit. that you spend in Chattanooga helps make what the local police do possible. In the name of humanity we ask you to stop giving your Williamson’s plight is not an isolated one. Nor is it even un- money and support to tourism in Chattanooga. usual. Anthony Porter also came within days of being executed. Tourism is the no. 1 industry in Chattanooga and is the only The state of Illinois halted his execution as it questioned whether thing keeping this local economy afloat. It brings in millions each or not Porter was mentally competent. Porter has an I.Q. of fifty- year, which finances racism, police brutality, and political corrup- one. As the state questioned his competence, a journalism class at tion. The city government is riddled with graft and kickbacks, Northwestern University questioned his guilt. With a small amount which leads to the fleecing of the people. of investigating, they managed to produce the real killer. After For years, there had never even been fair elections in the city, sixteen years on death row, Anthony Porter would find his free- until a group of Black Plaintiffs filed a federal voting rights law- dom. He was lucky. He escaped with his life. A fate not shared by suit in 1987, which in 1990 forced restructuring of the govern- twenty-three other innocent men. ment. Until 1990, there had been only one black person elected in the previous 90 years! Even now, there is social and economic The Chicago Tribune, in its five-part series “Death Row jus- discrimination in the political system, which locks out poor and tice derailed,” pronounced, “Capital punishment in Illinois is a working class citizens. system so riddled with faulty evidence, unscrupulous trial tactics, Now there is a scheme to destroy Black neighborhoods by giv- and legal incompetence that justice has been forsaken.” The gov- ing developers the right to take over downtown and the Southside, ernor of Illinois recently declared a moratorium on the death pen- destroying the city’s largest housing project with an interstate high- alty after the state had acquired the dubious honor of releasing way. All of this is designed to weaken Black political influence in more men from death row than it had executed. the city, and continue plantation politics. Your boycott of Chatta- nooga Tourism will send a message like no other protest can. Like The unfairness that plagues the Illinois system also plagues the boycott against the South African Apartheid State proved, eco- every other state as well: incompetent lawyers, racial bias, and nomic boycotts work! Join us in fighting for freedom. lack of access to DNA testing all inevitably lead to gross miscar- For more info: Boycott Chattanooga Coalition riages of justice. As Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, PO Box 11422, Chattanooga, TN 37401 Jr., stated, “Perhaps the bleakest fact of all is that the death penalty e-mail: [email protected] is imposed not only in a freakish and discriminatory manner, but also in some cases upon defendants who are actually innocent.”

Even those who support capital punishment are finding it in- Poetry on a Saturday Afternoon creasingly more difficult to endorse it in its current form. Capital The longest running poetry series in Sacramento punishment is a system that is deeply flawed - a system that preys on The last Saturday of every month at the poor and executes the innocent. It is a system that is fundamen- Carol’s Books, 5964 South Land Park Drive tally unjust and unfair. Please support our efforts to have a morato- Sacramento, CA 95822 rium on further executions declared now. Support the ACLU. Oct. 28 - Greg Jones, Sacramento writer, actor, poet vocalist This situation could improve soon. A bill - The Innocence Nov. 25 - James Sweeney, Berkeley poet, writer, activist Protection Act - has been introduced in Congress. It would allow death row prisoners to request DNA testing on any evidence from For more info: Straight Out Scribes (916) 443-3322 their case that is in the government’s possession. 10 INDIAN AFFAIRS HEAD EXTENDS Ms. Jones life is full of dedi- cation and service to the Black APOLOGY FOR PAST ATROCITIES Community. She first came into contact with the BPP in 1968, af- The head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs apologized ter Lil Bobby Hutton was killed in recently for the agency’s legacy of “racism and inhumanity” that West Oakland. Her children, who included massacres, forced relocations of tribes and attempts to attended the funeral, came home wipe out American Indian languages and cultures. and told her about the BPP. As a “This agency participated in the ethnic cleansing that befell person of conscience, she went to the Western tribes,” said Kevin Gover, a Pawnee Indian. “It must the next community meeting and be acknowledged that the deliberate spread of disease, the decima- met Bobby Seale. Always ready tion of the mighty bison herds, the use of the poison alcohol to to serve the community, Ms. Jones destroy mind and body, and the cowardly killing of women and made it her business to help on the first Breakfast Program at 27th children made for tragedy on a scale so ghastly that it cannot be and West at St. Augustine’s Church, and stayed active with the dismissed as merely the inevitable consequence of the clash of BPP for several years. competing ways of life.” Ms. Jones was born in 1906 and has lived in the Bay Area The misery continued after the BIA became part of the Inte- since the early 1930’s. Her long history of community involve- rior Department in 1849, Gover said. Children were brutalized in ment began with the PTA, the Boy Scouts and the Order of Eastern BIA run boarding schools, Indian languages and religious prac- Stars. In the 1940’s, she worked with the Red Cross, assisting ser- tices were banned and traditional tribal governments were elimi- vicemen. Later, she joined Dr. Martin Luther King and Reverend nated. “Poverty, ignorance and disease have been the product of Cecil Williams in the fight for civil and human rights. She still goes this agency’s work,” Gover said. to Glide Memorial Church every Sunday in San Francisco. Editor’s note: We have recently been hearing several “apolo- Ms. Jones has dedicated her life to organizing and empower- gies” from public officials regarding past social injustices. However, ing the Black Community and in 1994, Assemblywoman Barbara talk is cheap and nothing is being done to compensate the victims. Lee chose Ms. Jones as Woman of the Year. She received the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Glide Memorial Church in 1976 and an Outstanding Political Service award from BWOPA WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (Black Women Organized for Political Action). She is currently on the Commission for the Aging for the City and County. SAFIYA BUKHARI - ALSTON, a revolutionary sister, joined the BPP REGINA JENNINGS is an ex-BPP member formerly work- in Nov. 1969. She worked out of the ing out of Philadelphia. She went on to earn a B.A. degree in En- Harlem office, carrying out her po- glish, a Masters degree in English and Creative Writing and a PhD litical work in Spanish Harlem, help- in African-American Studies with a concentration in literature. ing to organize with the Young Lord Regina started an African-American Studies program at the col- Organization and also working in the lege level, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Africana Stud- medical cadre. She sold papers, or- ies at Rutgers University. ganized the community, and did valu- Regina wrote a book of poetry entitled Midnight Morning able work to free the N.Y. Panther 21. musings: Poems of an American African, has a manuscript entitled In 1971, she left the Party and Poetry of the Panther: The Poetics of Revolution, and has a book became a member of the BLA, orga- contract for Patriarchy, Resistance, and the Black Panther Party. nizing and teaching self-defense. Regina has also published a host of articles in The Journal of Black This led to her capture and frame-up Studies, Language and Literature of the African-American Imagi- and she was incarcerated for 8 years (1975-1983). nation, Pennsylvania English, Africana History, Culture and Social Today Safiya is still hard at work organizing and educating Policy, Essence and others. Regina also has a chapter in The Black the community. She works in Brooklyn where she is the Director Panther Party Reconsidered. She currently resides in Philadelphia. of Administration for Brooklyn Legal Services-A . . She also is the chairperson for the N.Y. Mumia Coalition and co- SACRAMENTO OFFICE chair and founder of the Jericho Movement, launched in 1998 to OF POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY Free Political Prisoners. She has received numerous awards for her hard work. In 1971, Of 158 police complaints received over the year, 88 (43%) she was awarded the Malcolm X Black Unity Award and in 1990, came from African-Americans. Black residents only comprise ONI - International Black Women’s Congress Award for 25 years about 15% of the city’s population. of service to the Black Community. She also has recently agreed Also, 64% of citizens charged with resisting arrest in Sacra- to work on the 35th year Reunion of the BPP, to be held in Wash- mento over a 100 day period last year were African-American. ington DC in 2001. Out of 17 cases reviewed by the Office of Accountability, only 3 were deemed to show use of excessive force. MOTHER RUTH JONES VILLA - mother, grandmother, great- Editor’s note: The Office of Police Accountability needs to grandmother, elder, supporter and advisor. hold the police accountable for their actions, especially in regard Ms. Jones, as she is known to us, is 94 years old and still lives to racial profiling, racist attitudes and outright police brutality. in Oakland at the Senior Housing Project where she helped orga- We cannot stand for unequal treatment by the police department. nize the BPP SAFE Program (Seniors Against a Fearful Environ- We are tax payers and we should have the same rights under the ment) in 1973. law as everyone else. 11 “IT’S ABOUT TIME” ACTIVITIES JOURNAL Recommended Reading

Blu Magazine Summer 2000 - Members of It’s About Time photo exhibit of the BPP by Stephen Shames at P.O. Box 903 traveled to France and were able to visit with Donald UC Berkeley. Stephen was the official BPP pho- 2032 Route 213 Cox, Field Marshall in exile of the BPP; and with tographer in the early days. His exhibit contin- Rifton, N.Y. 12471-0903 George Johnson, formerly of the International Sec- ues through October at the Dept. of Journalism www.blumagazine.net tion of the BPP in Algiers. We also met with mem- on the UC Berkeley campus (northgate, Euclid bers of the Mumia Defense Committee in Marseille and Hearst). Covert Action Quarterly who regularly hold educational events and demon- Several members of It’s About Time at- 1500 Massachusetts Ave, NW #732 strations at the U.S. Embassy there. tended a reception for Ruben Hurricane Carter, Washington D.C. 20005 Democratic National Convention (DNC)- Pam Africa, Leonard Weinglass, and Michael www.covertaction.org Members of It’s About Time went to Los Ange- Franti in San Francisco. Randall Robinson les for the Mumia March at the DNC. We also We were able to speak them about our news- “The Debt” distributed the newsletter through several book- letter and the Angola 3. We were pleased to learn stores and community centers. While there, con- that the Hurricane reads the newsletter and was “Last Man Standing” tact was also made with many ex-Party mem- familiar with our work. Mr. Weinglass, Mumia’s by Jack Olsen bers. Our trip was made complete with a visit to attorney, also had read the newsletter and was (The story of Geronimo Pratt) Georgia Jackson, mother of George and Jonathan. familiar with the case of the Angola 3. Follow- South African Beacon Billy X participated in a demonstration in ing the reception, there was a fund-raising event 1615 Broadway, Suite 705 support of the Farm Workers Union for an in- for Mumia at Mission High School with a stand- Oakland, CA 94612 crease in the minimum wage. The demonstra- ing room only crowd. tion in Stockton CA was very successful. More than $50,000 was raised. The Van- Several Panther alumni recently attended a guard Foundation donated $25,000. Recommended Websites Photos: Top Left: afrocubaweb.com/assata.htm Stephen Sham afrikan.net & Billy X. mumia.org nalfnationtime.com Bottom Left: itsabouttimebpp.com prisonactivist.org Staajabu, Geronimo & V.S. Chochezi

It’s About Time… P.O. Box 221100 Sacramento, CA 95822